NYC students join global climate strike

More than a thousand students left city schools Friday morning and rallied in City Hall Park to call for action to combat climate change.

The demonstration was part of a worldwide climate strike, with protests happening in cities across the globe, including Washington, D.C., London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Sydney, Bangkok, New Delhi, Tokyo and Cape Town, South Africa. The strikes were inspired by Greta Thunberg, a teen who picketed at the Swedish Parliament.

Organizers said they back measures like the Green New Deal, an ambitious plan introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that calls for the country to become greenhouse gas emissions neutral by 2030. They hoped staging the event during the school day would signal the importance of fighting climate change.